Apparatus for casting metals



19, 1935. c. c. HILL Er AL IHPAEATUS FOR CASTING METALS Filed y 2, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 d m7 173% Z q wi M [6 March 19, 1935. H.. H AL 1,994,705

APPARATUS FOR CASTING METALS Filed May 2, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 19, 1935. c. c AL 1,994,705

APPARATUS FOR CASTING METALS Filed May 2, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lnuenlors: CHQELEfi C. H/LL and Patented Mar, 1%, 1935 APPARATUS FOR CASTING IVMTAILS Charles G. Hill, Shaker Heights, and

Henry, Garfield Heights,

William M. Ohio, assignors to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 2, 1933, Serial No. 669,052 2 Claims- (01. 22-57) This invention relates to an apparatus for casting metals, and more particularly to casting ingots, although not limited thereto.

In the past, a number of attempts have been 5 made to improve the quality of cast ingots by changing the characteristics of the metal. One method of procedure in the manufacture of certain grades of steel has been to employ expensive hot tops, the purpose being to prevent or reduce piping of the ingot.

In other grades of steel,

such as rimmed steel, gases and non-metallic inclusions are removed by ebullition and a shell or rim of substantial thickness is formed on the outside of the ingot. The results obtained from such a rimming action were not entirely satisfactory for the reason that the shell was of varyingthickness, the bottom of the ingot having little or no such shell.

It is desirable in making a superior rimmed steel that the shell or rim" be of substantial thickness completely around the ingot from top to bottom. I

Another line of procedure in attempting to obtain superior ingots has been to subject the mold to vertical vibrations in order to hasten particles of inclusions and gases to the surface of the liquid metal, it being a well known fact, of course, that the former are of considerably greater buoyancy than the steel and should rise to the surface of the latter if the steel can cient length of time.

be held liquid for a sufii- However, due to the minuteness of the particles of inclusions and gases they do not rise to the surface with sufilcient rapidity and are, accordingly, entrapped in the steel.

Inaccordance with the teaching of the present invention, the particles of inclusion and gases inherent in molten metal are made to come in Still another object is to provide a novel apparatus for procuring a highly satisfactory rimming action of molten metal by instituting convection currents therein, causing particles of inclusions and gases to another and coalesce come in contact with one to form larger particles,

' OFFICE thus increasing their rate of rising to the top of the metal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel means which may be conveniently employed during the entire time the molten metal is being teemed. addition to the jectionable.

into conventional ingot molds, the mold of a hot top not being ob- These and further objects will be apparent'after referring to the drawings,

in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus of the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan thereof. Figure 3 is a view on the line ure 1.

III-III of Fig- Figure 4 is a. sectional view of a detail of the invention.

Figure 5 is a view on ure 4.

the line V-V of Fig- Referring more particularly to the drawings, 20 the numeral 2 designates a platform which is disposed in a pit 3 in the molten metal .is teemed pouring floor, where from ladles into conventional ingot molds. The platform 2, which is of rectangular shape, rests upon springs 4 in such 25 manner as to have its upper surface A pair of supports 5 are disp flush with osed at the bottom of the pit 3 and each adapted to carry a motor 6 which is provided with the usual driven 3 The vibrators of the invention are disposed in housings '7, and each comprises a pair of anti-friction bearings mounted a shaft 9 8 in which there is having an integral unbalanced weight 10 supported between the bearings.

A suitable flexible driving in the drawings at 12, is the driven shaft 6 of each provided for of the motors 6 to the connection, indicated 35 connectin rotary shaft 9 of each of the vibrators. The m0- tors 6 may be of any conventional type, such as fluid or electric motors. The vibrator housings 7 are rigidly suspended from the platform 2 by means of supporting of the vibrator housings and to the platform 2 at A pair of track sections bars 14 connected to each '7 at one of their ends their other ends. 45

15 are mounted on the upper surface of the platform 2 in order to enable the disposal thereon of a conventional ingot mold truck generally indicated at 16.

In accordance with conventional practice, a pair of ingot mold stools 1'? are carried on the truck 16 for supporting the usual ingot molds 18.

In order to insure that the action of the vibrators generally indicated at 'l-will be transmitted to the ingot molds to a grea ter extent, if de- 5 sired, for certain kinds of steel, it may be essential that the molds 18, truck 16 and platform 2 be rigidly held together in a unitary manner. To obtain such rigidity of the apparatus, a plurality of ears 19 are provided on each of the ingot molds 18 and a plurality of corresponding ears 20 provided on the truck 16. A pair of rods 21, each of which is provided with an eyelet 21 at one of its ends, are adapted to be connected to the ears by means of a pin 22 and are connected together by means of a conventional turnbuckle 23. Similar connections are provided for securing the truck 16 to the platform 2.

In operation, the motors 6 are suitably driven to rotate the shafts 9 of the adjacent vibrators through the flexible couplings 12. The rotation of the shafts 9 enables the integral unbalanced weights 10 to impart universal vibrations of small amplitude of both vertical and horizontal nature to the supporting bars 14, which are secured to the platform 2.

These vibrations, conveyed from the platform 2 to the ingot molds 18 through the truck 16, serve completely to coalesce the particles of inclusions and gases present in the molten metal in such manner as to assure the superior rimming action hereinbefore referred to.

While we have shown and described one specific embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of our invention, as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for casting comprising a resiliently mounted platform adapted to support an ingot mold truck, means for rigidly securing at least one ingot mold to said truck, means for rigidly securing said truck to said resiliently mounted platform, at least a pair of independent vibrators secured to said platform, said vibrators each comprising an antifric'tionally mounted rotary shaft carrying an integral unbalanced weight, a motor disposed adjacent each of said vibrators, and flexible driving connections between said motors and said rotary shafts.

2. Apparatus for casting comprising a resiliently mounted platform adapted to support an ingot mold truck, means for rigidly securing at least one ingot mold to said truck, means for rigidly securing said truck to said resiliently mounted platform, a frame rigidly secured to said resiliently mounted platform adjacent each of its ends, a vibrator connected to each of said frames, said vibrators each comprising an antifrictionally mounted rotary shaft carryingan integral unbalanced weight, a motor disposed adjacent each of said vibrators, and flexible driving connections between said motors and said rotary shafts.

CHARLES C. HILL. WILLIAM M. HENRY. 

